19 Ottawa restaurants where you can eat well for $20 or less

Crisp bulgogi croquettes in Vanier, a smoked salmon bagel in Wellington Village and a fire-baked burger in Hintonburg are among the finds from small local kitchens.

Left to right: Pan con chicharron from Tayanti, three-curry lunch combo with naan at Masala Trail, Bulgogi Beef and Korean Fire Chicken waffles from Sharpfle Waffle. (Photos: Julie Oliver, Peter Hum, Jean Levac / Postmedia)

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If the rising cost of groceries has you wincing at the checkout, the menu at your favourite restaurant probably isn’t helping. Between tariffs, higher diesel prices, fuel surcharges and the war in the Middle East, food has grown noticeably more expensive this spring, and local eateries have raised their prices to match. That’s why this latest roundup of affordable meals in the Ottawa area uses a $20 ceiling, up from the $15 limit of past editions.

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You can still find a good deal under $15, and a fair bit under $10. At JnJ Bakery in Vanier, four sizeable savoury or sweet items will cost you less than $5 apiece.

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The list below covers sandwiches, soups, noodle dishes and more, from unpretentious kitchens across the city. A fair number come from cooks who brought their home cuisines to the capital, so a budget meal can just as easily come from Lima or Lagos.

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None of this makes the grocery bill any smaller, but the occasional meal cooked by someone else shouldn’t feel beyond reach. If you have recommendations for orders that we’ve missed, please leave them in the comments.

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Note: Prices are subject to change following the publication of this article.

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Chicken Curry and Bulgogi Croquettes at JnJ Bakery — $4.50 each

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A selection of original, bulgogi and chicken curry croquettes at JnJ Bakery Cafe in Vanier Photo by JULIE OLIVER /Postmedia

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At this tiny Korean business on a Vanier side street, everything seems like a steal. For a savoury treat, it’s hard to beat chef-owner Sung-hae Lee’s bulgogi croquettes, which pack well-seasoned sliced-beef fillings into crisp-shelled, almost chewy dough balls. Chicken curry croquettes are also fine for a change of pace, and you can fill up with one of each for under $10. In fact, if you spring for a very well-made almond tart ($4.50) for a dessert, you’ll still come in at under $15.

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 Meat pies from British Pride Bakery — $5 pasties and $8.50 pot pies

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The pie counter at British Pride Bakery in Stittsville. Photo by Sofia Misenheimer /Postmedia

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British Pride Bakery started in Cambridge, Ontario, in 2010 and has since expanded to seven stores across the province. The Stittsville outpost opened in late 2023 with a counter stacked with pasties: savoury half-moon pastries that fed generations of British labourers who needed a hot, portable lunch they could eat with one hand. These are filled with ground beef and potato, cheese and onion and other hearty combinations, crimped into a traditional dough shell. The pies, a couple of bucks more, come in puff pastry with fillings like steak and Stilton, chicken curry and lamb and mint. The meat filling is dense and savoury, the portions hefty enough to be a small meal. They can be bought cold to heat up at home or grabbed from a warming station and eaten on the spot. The rest of the shop is stocked with imported British crisps, sweets, chutneys and teas, and browsing after lunch is a reliable way to leave with more goodies than planned.

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Sandwiches from Dutch Groceries and Giftware — $5.99 toasties and $7.49 broodjes

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Sandwich and toastie from Dutch Groceries and Giftware. Photo by Sofia Misenheimer /Postmedia

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Walk past the aged Gouda wheels, the liquorice and the stroopwafels at this Dutch import shop and there is a counter at the back making sandwiches. The tosti is a staple of Dutch comfort eating, a pressed grilled ham and cheese sandwich served in cafés and sandwich shops in the Netherlands. Most Dutch households own a tosti-ijzer, a small countertop press dedicated to the task and the tradition has clearly travelled. The sandwich counter hands over a paper order form listing options like cervelaat (Swiss sausage), meatloaf, rye loaf and curry ketchup. The cheese list includes komijnekaas, a cumin-spiced variety with a warm, slightly nutty character. There is also Dutch mayonnaise for an extra quarter. Dutch law requires anything labelled mayonnaise to contain at least 70% fat and 5% egg yolk, making the stuff richer and denser than North American mayo. The menu also offers a white bun with chocolate sprinkles, called hagelslag, a classic Dutch breakfast.

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Shrimp and pork wonton soup at Bite & Bite Shanghai Panfried Bun — $11.99

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Shrimp pork wonton soup at Bite & Bite Shanghai Panfried Buns on Merivale Road. Photo by Peter Hum /. Postmedia

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One of life’s great comforts is a bowl of wonton soup. Bite & Bite Shanghai Panfried Bun offers an exceptional rendition in which almost a dozen shrimp and pork wontons bob in a savoury broth that’s flavoured with seaweed, which is how wonton soup rolls in Shanghai. If you need to economize even further, you get just as many wontons, but made with pork only, in a bowl of soup for $7.99.

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Candied club sandwich at 50 TWO Sandwiches & More — $13

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Candied bacon club sandwich from 50 TWO on Antares Drive. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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At this five-year-old Antares Drive takeout shop, more than half of the sandwiches sold are candied club sandwiches, which pack grilled or breaded chicken breast, candied bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, red onion and jalapeno lime aioli into a house-made white, Italian herb or jalapeno cheese bun. The most popular variation opts for breaded chicken and the jalapeno cheese bun, while a pro move is to order the aioli on the side for dipping. A halal version of the sandwich is also available, made with halal chicken and halal candied beef bacon.

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Grilled chicken banh mi at Casa Bonita Coffee & Bakery — $13.99

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Grilled chicken banh mi at Casa Bonita Coffee & Bakery on Baseline Road. Photo by Peter Hum /Postmedia

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Better known for its mochi doughnuts and extravagant coffee- and matcha-based beverages, this Baseline Road strip-mall eatery recently introduced more savoury items to its menu, including banh mi that present owner Max Phan’s Vietnamese heritage. The chicken banh mi seems just right, with pieces of juicy, lemongrass-tinged halal chicken thighs properly garnished and tucked into a perfectly fresh bun. There’s an even cheaper classic banh mi for pork lovers, and both sandwiches will leave you with enough money to splurge on a mochi doughnut or a superior Vietnamese coffee.

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Stunner sandwich from Ottawa Bagelshop and Deli — $13.99

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The Stunner sandwich at Ottawa Bagelshop and Deli on Wellington West. Photo by Sofia Misenheimer /Postmedia

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The sandwiches at this Wellington Village deli do not skimp on ingredients. The turkey deli piles meat high and the classics are reliable. But the Stunner is one to order, if you like bagel and lox. Smoked salmon, whipped cream cheese, cucumbers, watermelon radish and house-pickled jalapeños on a freshly made everything bagel. The cucumbers and radish give a crunch while the jalapeños add real heat. Fresh dill ties everything together. The best bite is through the hole of the bagel, where all the fillings get compressed into one layered mouthful. And the bagel demands equal attention. These are Montreal-style bagels, hand-rolled, boiled in honey water and baked in a wood-fired oven, slightly sweet, chewy and substantial enough to hold all of the above without falling apart.

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Signature burger from Solomon’s Oven — $13.99

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The signature burger from Solomon’s Oven. Photo by Sofia Misenheimer /Postmedia

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The burger at this “modern Levant kitchen” is a sneaky gateway into one of the more interesting menus in the neighbourhood. The bread is fire-baked in a large oven and has a gorgeous crust and a pillowy interior forming a sealed pocket around the fillings. Mayo is slathered on generously, the pink pickled turnips have snap and the toppings taste freshly prepped. For a bigger appetite, the chicken shawarma kaak asrounieh ($16.99) goes deeper into the kitchen’s roots. Kaak is a bread dating back at least to the 13th century and vendors in Beirut sell sesame-crusted, handbag-shaped loaves from wheeled carts, slitting them open to stuff with za’atar, cheese or falafel. Solomon’s version fills the bread with well-seasoned chicken, the sesame crust crispy and fragrant.

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A dozen chicken and beef brochettes at La Zone 23 — $13.99

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Chicken and beef skewers at La Zone 23 on Mann Avenue. Photo by Photo: Peter Hum / Postmedia

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The meatiest bargain at this tiny shop in Sandy Hill serving Algerian and Mexican fare has to be a selection of a dozen properly seasoned Algerian kebabs served with a lightly spicy sauce and some bread from the Algerian bakery a few doors down on the side. If you want to splurge and bulk up your order, order some rice, fries or salad for a few dollars more.

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Cubano sandwich at Around the Block Butcher — $14

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Cubano sandwich at Around the Block Butcher. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

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The handheld treat that gets the most glory at this artisanally minded Centrepointe butcher shop is the instantly famous smoked meat sandwich, which pops up now and then and also exceeds this column’s $20 limit. But a day-to-day go-to here is the less pricey but still substantial Cubano sandwich, piled with pulled pork, ham, melted cheese, mustard and pickles. Traditionalists may grumble because the casing is a crisp baguette, but the sandwich is eye-wideningly delicious.

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Korean Bulgogi and Fire Chicken Waffles at Sharpfle Waffle — $15

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111 York St. (ByWard Market), 173 Hinchey Ave. (Mechanicsville); sharpflewaffle.com

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Bulgogi Beef and Korean Fire Chicken waffles from Sharpfle Waffle located at 173 Hinchey Ave in Ottawa. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

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The Korean food business, which has locations in Mechanicsville and the ByWard Market, made its name with sweet waffle-croissant hybrids. Eventually, it launched savoury variants that eat like sandwiches. The bulgogi waffle heaps beef glazed with a house-made sweet-salty sauce into its doughy embrace, while the aptly named fire chicken is a spicy number with a topping of shredded seaweed and sesame seeds to offset the burn. Both of these treats are halal.

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Goat birria at Tortilla Maker — $16

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Goat birria at the Tortilla Maker in Orleans. Photo by Peter Hum /Postmedia

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A marvelous find in Ottawa’s east end is the birria at Tortilla Maker in Orleans. A traditional Mexican stew from the province of Jalisco, birria stars chunks of tender, slow-cooked goat meat submerged in a spiced chili broth. Tortilla Maker serves some of its namesake house-made tortillas, should you feel the need to wrap some of the goat meat into a taco. While beefy birria tacos are common in Ottawa, once you’ve had goat birria at Tortilla Maker, you may go out of your way for it.

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Dandan noodles with ground pork at Noodle’s Invitation — $16.50

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Dandan Noodles with ground pork from Noodle’s Invitation. Photo by Peter Hum /Postmedia

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As unassuming as this bowl of noodles may look, it packs a flavour wallop as hefty as anything else you’ll find in this column. At the humble Chinese eatery tucked into a Colonnade Road industrial park, the wheat noodles come alive with the calling-card heat and floral tingle of Sichuan cuisine, offset by a touch of nuttiness from sesame and the richness of seasoned ground pork. Even ordered medium spicy, this is an intense bowl of food.

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Tonkotsu ramen at Kuma Takumi Ramen — $17.99

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Tonkotsu ramen at Kuma Takumi in Kanata. Photo by Peter Hum /Postmedia

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This spacious one-year-old shop in a Hazeldean Road strip mall entices with some of the most authentic and reliable ramen in the city. Kuma’s tonkotsu ramen stacks up with the city’s best iterations of this iconic Japanese meal in a bowl. The creamy, decidedly porky broth has depth and character. The noodles are fresh and good enough to make you stop and take notice, while toppings include slices of pork belly, squidgy black fungus, halves of jammy-yolked, soy-marinated egg, bamboo shoots and green onions — all on point.

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Small Jerk Chicken at Jerkies — $17.49

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Small jerk chicken at Jerkies Chicken on Mann Avenue. Photo by Peter Hum /Postmedia

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The Guyanese eatery in Sandy Hill justifies its name with a splendidly spiced version of jerk chicken. What’s more, the box-stuffing small order is so generously portioned, with three pieces of succulent, compellingly flavoured dark meat, a heap of fried plantain and a small mountain of rice and beans, that the large is hard to fathom.

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Beef suya and plantain combo from Mills Kitchen  — $18

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Beef suya and plantain combo from Mills Kitchen on Boyd Avenue Photo by Photo: Peter Hum, Postmedia

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In the past few years, Ottawa’s seen the arrival of quite a few eateries specializing in suya, the popular West African street food of skewered meat that’s been intoxicatingly flavoured with a nutty spice mix. My favourite suya in town comes from the take-out shop Mills Kitchen on Boyd Avenue, off of Carling Avenue. The beef suya is grilled to yield a mix of juicy meat with rendered fat as well as some crispy bits, all slathered in addictive suya spice. Fried plantain bulk up the order, and there’s even a container of extra suya spice for further enjoyment. For what it’s worth, a friend of mine said the spice made his next morning’s avocado toast even better.

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Pork belly sandwich from Tayanti Peruvian Restaurant — $18 

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Pan con chicharron from Tayanti bar and Peruvian dining room on Clarence Street in the ByWard Market. Photo by Julie Oliver /Postmedia

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Three-curry lunch combo with naan at Masala Trail in Stittsville. Photo by Peter Hum /Postmedia

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Lobster roll at the Shop at Harmons on Elgin Street. Photo by Peter Hum /Postmedia

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